During a test last Monday, a massive fireball erupted from the base of Booster 7, a prototype of Super Heavy, the giant first stage of Starship, a deep space transport system that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk hopes will take humans to Mars. . The terrifying explosion occurred during a test at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas and occurred when an “engine start-up test” didn’t go according to plan, Musk said.
In a tweet, the world’s richest man admitted that the fireball was not intentional and that the “team is assessing the damage”.
He later offered a possible explanation as to why the eruption occurred, saying, “Cryogenic fuel is an additional challenge, as it vaporizes to create a fuel-air explosion risk in a partial oxygen atmosphere like Earth.
“That said, we have a lot of sensors to detect this. More Later.”
Mr. Musk then added that one of the things SpaceX would do in the future is burn off the hydrogen leaks created before ignition, presumably using tiny sparks set up under the shuttle’s engine.
He wrote: “However, this particular issue was specific to the engine starting test (Raptor has a complex starting sequence).
“In the future, we will not do a spin-start test with all 33 engines at the same time.”
When asked what kind of damage the missile had sustained, Mr. Musk replied, “The base of the vehicle appears to be fine with a flashlight.
“I was there just an hour ago. We have closed the trail for the night for safety. I’ll know more tomorrow morning.”
SpaceX is currently preparing the Booster 7 for Starship’s first-ever orbital test flight, which could take place in a few months.
However, it’s unclear when the fire caused major damage to the rocket, which could delay SpaceX’s launch plans.
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Starship’s system consists of two parts: the 50 meter long titular rocket and the Super Heavy booster.
Musk says both elements of Starship will be fully and quickly reusable, which could enable plans to make Mars economically viable, along with other ambitious deep space exploration plans.
The spacecraft will be powered by 39 of SpaceX’s powerful new Raptor engines, 33 of which will propel the rocket’s booster stage, while another six will power the spacecraft’s upper stage.
SpaceX has already launched several upper-stage Starship prototypes on high-altitude test flights, one of which even successfully landed in May 2021.
However, the upcoming mission, which will launch a Starship vehicle called Ship 24 into Earth orbit, will be the first-ever launch for a Super Heavy.
Mr. Musk’s space company currently has plans to use the spaceship to transport people and cargo to the Moon, Mars and other deeper locations.
NASA has selected the system to become the first lander in a generation to take humans to the moon, as part of the Artemis lunar exploration program.